Utah Legislature looking to require seat belts on newer school buses

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ST. GEORGE, Utah - + Video – (UPDATE) A bill requiring school buses to be equipped with seat belts has failed the Utah House of Representatives. After several conversations in committees and on the house floor with amendments, House Bill 132 still failed on a vote of 40 to 30. Five members were absent from the vote which occurred on February 9, 2017.

(January 30, 2017) Every year, there’s an average of 17,000 injuries on school buses. The 2017 Utah Legislature is reviewing a bill that would Utah require school buses purchased after June 30, 2017 to be equipped with three-point seat belts.

House Bill 132, sponsored by Rep. Craig Hall, is an attempt to make school buses safer in the event of an accident. However the future cost by school districts to make the change could be challenging.

The bill has been recommended by the House Transportation Committee and is headed for 3rd reading in the full House. Then, it would go on to the Senate.

Safety experts in the industry of testing school bus crashes are calling for no more excuses.